News Release

Members of the Sigma Society presented
a $1,200 donation to House of Hope Haiti from proceeds they earned from
a recent fundraiser. At the center, Sigma Society Fundraising Chair
Stephanie Burge presents a check to House of Hope Haiti board member Dr.
Bayo Oludaja.

April 28, 2010

Sigma Society donates funding to House of Hope Haiti mission

MARYVILLE, Mo. - A local ministry dedicated to providing financial support and technical training for orphaned or abandoned children got a boost this week from one of Northwest's student service organizations.

The Sigma Society on Tuesday presented a $1,200
donation to House of Hope Haiti. House of Hope Haiti President Dr. Mike
Bellamy and board member Dr. Bayo Oludaja accepted the donation on the
mission's behalf. Bellamy is associate professor of chemistry at
Northwest; Oludaja is associate professor of communication, theatre and
languages.

"We are appreciative of what the
organization has done and it has come at the right time," Bellamy said
of the donation. "The problem in Haiti was a significant problem but the
response of the Sigma Society was a significant response. For them to
raise this kind of money was really, really remarkable. They deserve to
be commended and should be very proud of what they did."

Sigma
Society raised the money from the proceeds of "I (heart) Northwest"
T-shirts the group sold to commemorate Northwest Week, April 5-9.

The
women said they were compelled to donate to House of Hope Haiti because
of the mission's connection to Northwest. Some Sigma Society members
are now considering joining to help House of Hope Haiti on its next trip
to the region.

"They are doing great things," Donovan
said. "They're working on a school. They've already built an orphanage.
That's what we really wanted to focus on is their efforts and make
people see that people in Maryville are helping in ways that are
amazing."

Bellamy helped launch House of Hope
Haiti in 2005 with a half-dozen volunteers and opened an orphanage with
16 children. Since then, the mission has grown considerably and provided
aid to residents in Williamson, a 45-minute drive north of
Port-au-Prince.

"God has just blessed this
ministry beyond anything that we ever hoped," Bellamy said. "It's a lot
bigger than we ever thought it would be. We never planned for it to be
this way."

House of Hope Haiti also has aided
subsistence farmers and given residents better access to water by
digging wells, building cisterns and creating water purification
systems.

"A lot of times the people don't have
access to water at all," Bellamy said. "Sometimes the nearest well might
be a quarter-mile away and somebody might be charging money for it. So
we just give them access to more water and cleaner water to improve
their quality of life."

Bellamy and Oludaja said
the Sigma Society's donation will likely be used toward finishing a
school and church building that House of Hope Haiti is constructing.